Montreal

Montreal's St. Patrick's Day parade postponed due to pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Montreal's St. Patrick's Day parade organizers to postpone the event. The parade was cancelled last year as the first wave of the pandemic began to take hold.

Though not yet cancelled outright, organizers say it's unlikely to be rescheduled

A young spectator watches the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Montreal during the pre-pandemic era. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Montreal's St. Patrick's Day parade organizers to postpone the event.

The parade was cancelled last year as the first wave of the pandemic began to take hold.

This year's parade would have taken place downtown on March 14, but the public health situation made holding it on that date impossible, said Kevin Tracey, a spokesperson.

"It's a parade, it's something we all look forward to," he said. "It's something in Montreal that has become a major tradition, usually [on] the last cold day of the winter before spring hits in a day or two after the parade.

"But everybody comes out in droves and there's usually hundreds of thousands of people coming out on the street, and everybody has fun.

"Now no one's having any fun."

Organizers say they could reschedule the parade to a later date if the situation changes, but Tracey says realistically the next parade won't be held until March 2022.

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